theNewsWorthy: Tuesday, January 29th, 2019

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All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...

Winter Weather: Get ready for the coldest weather in decades expected to hit the Midwest this week. Cities like Chicago are preparing for highs below zero, and wind chills in North Dakota and Minnesota could be as low as -60°F.

And as thousands of football fans travel to Atlanta for the Super Bowl this weekend, snow this week is causing some travel concerns. Atlanta tends to shut down with even a little bit of snow, and Delta has apparently already canceled some flights.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, CBS says it plans to air an interview with President Trump before the game.Read more (Record Cold Temps): The Weather ChannelRead more (Super Bowl Travel): ESPNRead more (Trump’s Interview): The Hill, CBS News

State of the Shutdown: The date for President Trump’s State of the Union address has been set. He’ll deliver the address on February 5th from the Capitol. The speech was originally scheduled for today, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceled it during the government shutdown. Also: a new, non-partisan report found the five-week ordeal cost the U.S. economy $11 billion. The Congressional Budget Office says most of that will be reversed now that federal workers are back on the job, but $3 billion is gone for good.Read more (State of the Union): CNN, USA TodayRead more (Cost): NBC News, CBO

Charges & Sanctions: The U.S. is taking action against two international companies. The first is Chinese tech firm Huawei. The Justice Department is charging the company with stealing trade secrets, wire fraud and obstruction of justice. Huawei is the number two smartphone maker (after Samsung) and the world’s largest supplier of telecom equipment. The second is PDVSA, an oil company owned by the Venezuelan government. The Treasury Department imposed sanctions in hopes of forcing current President Maduro out of office in favor of the opposition leader Guiado. Right now, both men are claiming the office.Read more (Huawei): CNET, WSJRead more (Venezuela): Bloomberg, WSJ, CNBC

Afghan Deal: Talks between the U.S. and the Taliban are underway, and if a peace deal is reached, it could mean the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan within 18 months of an agreement. Negotiations are still in the early stages, but it's the first big step toward ending the 17-year war. The deal would send troops home if the Taliban agrees to a ceasefire and to stop giving terrorists a safe haven.Read more: NYT, The Guardian, WSJ

Tax Law Report: Tax season has begun, and a new report says President Trump’s new tax law didn’t do everything he expected it would. According to the National Association of Business Economics, 84 percent of companies reporting did not change hiring or investment plans within one year after the cut to the corporate tax rate. Other independent analyses found many individual Americans should see a tax cut in this first year.Read more: Reuters, NYT

Starbucks to White House?: Howard Schultz, the former head of Starbucks, says he’s thinking about running for president. Though Schultz calls himself a lifelong Democrat, he would run as an independent in 2020. Some Democrats worry he might split the vote, inadvertently helping Trump win another term. Schultz will be thinking it over during an upcoming book tour around the country.Read more: AP, CBS News

Cybersecurity Shortage: A recent study shows there are about three million cybersecurity job openings around the world and not enough people with the skills to fill them. Businesses are struggling to protect themselves from cyber-attacks with just software, and some experts expect 2019 to be the worst year yet for cyber attacks. That said, some states and colleges are reportedly working with organizations to help fill those open positions.Read more: TechCrunch, Fox Business

Facebook Review Board: Facebook is planning to launch an independent review board comprised of 40 independent experts. The board would serve as a supreme court of sorts, with the authority to take on the company’s decisions that have been appealed. There’s also a new so-called "war room" based in Dublin as election season nears in the EU. It's all part of Facebook's efforts to fight misinformation.Read more: TechCrunch, WIRED, The Guardian, Mashable

Apple News: We already know Apple is planning to launch a video streaming service, but Cheddar cites sources saying the company might also be working on a subscription service for games. It’s still in the early stages, so we'll see if it happens. Also, Apple is set to reveal its latest earnings and forecast today, which will surely affect the stock market.Read more: Cheddar, MacRumors, The Information

Dropbox + HelloSign: Dropbox is making its biggest purchase ever. The cloud storage and file-sharing company is set to pay $230 million for the company HelloSign. HelloSign helps businesses go paperless with things like e-signatures.Read more: CNBC, Business Insider

Stamp Prices: The U.S. Postal Service raised the price of Forever stamps by five cents to $0.55, the largest increase ever. The price hike is supposed to help make up for the $4 billion USPS lost last year. Keep in mind: you can still use the Forever stamps you already have.Read more: NBC News, AP

Youngest Figure Skating Champ: At just 13 years old, Alysa Liu is officially the youngest U.S. women’s figure skating champion ever! She made history on Friday. Though Liu is still too young for upcoming world titles, she will be eligible for the 2022 Winter Olympics.Read more: USA Today, People, Reuters

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